I Saw Him
by boyslikegirlslikeboys
Summary: Inspired by the Passion of the Christ movie. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, I just watched the Passion of the Christ and was inspired to write this.**

**However, I am very much scared. I don't wanna mess up the original Bible story…**

**But let's see if I can make this okay…**

The sun was set for the day, bathing the land in a dark curtain illuminated by moonlight and the burning torches in the city. Christianna lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her father and mother were sleeping in the next room, sound snores echoing through the house. The 15 year old, however, was plagued with sleeplessness. It was late at night, she knew, and she should be resting. But the longer she tried to tire her mind out with extreme fantasies and deep thoughts, the greater her awareness of the world outside her window.

There was a faraway noise drifting through the air, one that grew steadily louder as the minutes passed. Too intrigued to ignore it, Christianna climbed out of the window in her nightdress, scampering over the rooftops to see the source of the sound.

A crowd of people marched down the street. Christianna slipped down a fabric canopy, landing in an alley and watching the procession from a few feet away. _Servants of the high priest,_ Christianna thought. A man in a dark brown robe was being led between the servants. His hair fell in brown waves down to his chin, and he stared at his feet while he walked. Christianna saw his hands were bound. The men pushed him roughly, making him stumble, and laughed when he fell in the dirt. Christianna's heart went out to the man, and her hand unconsciously raised itself as if to reach out and help him up.

Suddenly, golden eyes were locked on hers as he looked up. There was no anger in them, no ill will. Just sadness. Christianna moved a half-step forward, but the man shook his head slightly, and she froze. The man was yanked to his feet and shoved forward.

Christianna quickly climbed back onto the roof and followed the man.

The man was led through the gates leading to the governor's home. Already, a huge crowd of people had gathered. Christianna got off the roof and managed to make her way through the throng to an overturned wagon. She climbed atop it and was provided with an unobstructed view of the man, but she could hardly hear what the high priest was saying to Pilate. A gasp flew out of her mouth when one of the priest's henchmen lashed out and punched the man.

A woman in front of her was crying, and the young boy with her looked upset. But all around, men and women alike were cheering as the man was hit.

"Enough!" Christianna's attention was jerked back to Pilate as he silenced the crowd. "He is under Herod's rule. Send him to Herod." Everyone voiced their unhappiness as the man was taken out of the city. Christianna followed the group, ghosting through alleyways and staying out of sight. When they came to the gates of the city, Christianna stopped, peering at the man for the last time.

She didn't know if she was imagining things, but she thought the man's golden eyes found her in the darkness before he was taken away.


	2. Chapter 2

The shade of the fabric canopy did little to weaken the heat of the midday sunlight. Christianna sat, plucking the petals off a bouquet of flowers, lost in thought. She hadn't seen the golden-eyed man in days. _I suppose Herod has executed him. _The notion made her feel sick to her stomach, and she squeezed her eyes shut to fight off the nausea.

A thrum of shouts floated across the air. Christianna leapt up and ran to the roadside, seeing a group of people resembling the one she'd seen that night. In the middle of the cluster was the man. Christianna's heart thumped hard when she saw that he was bloody, one eye swollen shut. She clutched the flowers to her chest, not realizing she'd been holding them. The man tripped and fell, earning a kick to the ribs by one of the men walking with him.

"Look at the king of the Jews now! Facedown in the dirt!" The crowd laughed cruelly, spitting on the fallen man. Christianna was horrified. _It's Christ. They're spitting on Christ!_ When he got to his feet, Christianna tossed the flowers on the ground in front of him in respect. He halted before he stepped on them, meeting her awestruck gaze. Finding that her voice wouldn't obey, Christianna could only mouth the words 'my Savior'. Jesus' eyes were solemn and sad as he was forced forward once more.

Christianna's blood ran cold, freezing her in place. It was minutes before she could move, and when she did, she spun on her heel, darting down backstreets to Pilate's home. Shouts of "crucify him!" echoed around the square, and Christianna threw herself into the crowd, shoving until she could climb atop the wagon. Her eyes searched desperately for Jesus, but he was nowhere to be found. Again, she jumped into the mass of bodies, maneuvering deeper, closer to the place she'd seen him the first time, but to no avail. Saddened, she went to the edge of the people, leaning against a pillar.

Suddenly, she heard the laughter of a group of men. Following the sound, she walked under an arch and down a cobblestone walkway that opened into another, smaller courtyard. There, she saw Jesus, chained to a large stone while two Roman soldiers whipped him. Christianna watched, unable to tear her eyes away from the bloody figure of the Messiah. When he was nearly dead, the soldiers unchained him, and he was limp, lying in a pool of scarlet. They dragged him away, an unending stripe of blood trailing after him.

His golden eyes found the girl's brown ones before he was taken through a doorway.

Dropping to her knees, Christianna retched violently, unable to contain the sickness she felt at seeing Jesus' blood staining the ground a few yards away from where she was. Through the haze of nausea, she faintly heard her name being called. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, pulling her hair away from the vomit. When her stomach was empty, a swatch of cloth was pressed to her lips, cleaning them, followed by a jug of water to rinse her mouth out with. She was pulled into someone's lap, rocked gently. When her head had cleared a bit, she looked up to see Jonathan's green eyes looking down at her worriedly.

"Are you alright?" He asked, wiping the sheen of sweat from the sickness off her forehead. Christianna felt water trickling out of the corners of her eyes.

"They're going to kill him. They're going to crucify him." She whispered, her throat sore. Jonathan's thumb caressed her cheeks, erasing tears that were quickly replaced by new ones.

"Who?"

"Jesus."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned in an array of pastels. Pink light reached through Christianna's window, bathing her in its warm color. _The beauty before the pain…_ The girl thought sadly, remembering the bloody Messiah who would die on a cross today. She dressed slowly, putting on one of her best dresses and making her dark hair fall prettily down her shoulders. She covered the black waves with a thin, gauzy fabric that matched her dress, then went outside. Jonathan was waiting for her, the same worried expression on his face as he took her to Pilate's home, where she stood silently, staring at the gate that Jesus would come out of.

It wasn't long before he did. Skin covered in open wounds, a crown of thorns on his head, Jesus carried his cross down the street. Jonathan put an arm around Christianna's waist to steady her, as her face had taken on a slightly green tint. They made their way through the people lining the streets, being sure to stay parallel to the suffering Savior.

When he fell the first time, Christianna began to shake.

The second time, she was crying.

Sobs wracked her chest the third time.

Jonathan had to support her the rest of the way to the hill where Jesus would die.

Jesus was nailed to the cross, hands and feet. A sign hung above his head, reading 'King of the Jews'. After the cross was raised into place, people began to leave.

Jonathan and Christianna stayed.

Long after the hill was empty of anyone but the soldiers, Jonathan and Christianna were standing there, staring at the ground.

Christianna looked up, eyes bright with tears, finding that Jesus' golden eyes were trained on her once again. They stared at each other for a long minute, then Christ's gaze turned heavenward.

"Father, I give you my life!" He said.

Those were the last words Jesus uttered before his body went limp.


End file.
